Project for higher education student and staff mobility between Programme Countries and Partner Countries (2015)

Unipi Team Leader: Alessandra Guidi, Pro Rector for Internationalization

The University of Pisa (UNIPI) is deeply rooted in its territory and fully integrated into the international scientific and higher education community. For UNIPI a key priority is to enhance, expand and consolidate its international role, promoting, participating in and leading important international research and educational projects and networks. It is engaged in projects that link its teaching and research activities in the key world regions which it considers strategic, China, Central Asia and Latin America, as mentioned in its ECHE mission statement. It has taken an important role in developing ECTS (starting in 1989) and the Bologna Process. It is a key Tuning partner in Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and elsewhere. It is dedicated to supporting international mobility and cooperation.
UNIPI has been deeply involved in a long-term effort to create a Central Asian Higher Education Area (CAHEA). Starting in 2004, it has been a key actor in this endeavour, and has been the scientific and academic coordinator of the large-scale Tempus Project TuCAHEA, which resulted on 18 January 2016 in the signing, in Rome, of a declaration of closer cooperation between the Ministries of Education and Science of the five Central Asian countries. Thus we placed at the centre of our ICM project leading Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik and Turkmen Universities, choosing among our large network of partners in Central Asia.
UNIPI has also implemented a number of partnerships in China, Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao PDR. The areas of particular cooperation with those countries at present are Health with emphasis on Food Safety, Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences. Both UNIPI and its partners wish to broaden the collaboration, and so, proposed mobility of students and staff in all disciplinary areas.
With Guangxi University, UNIPI with the Tuscany Region set up a permanent school for Food Safety, a very important issue for the Chinese economy and worldwide.
Qingdao Agricultural University teaches Italian, and cooperation in the areas of the Humanities, along with the core agricultural and scientific disciplines, was proposed.
With Zhejiang Ocean University UNIPI has set up a double degree programme in Marine Biology, Aquaculture and Food Processing.
The Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia is deeply involved in enhancing educational quality to meet regional and global standards.
Savannakhet University (SKU) Lao PDR, is dedicated to improving access to education for all Lao people and reducing poverty and ensuring food security.
Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, is involved in the ASEAN Community, but it regards with great interest the possibility of Erasmus+ cooperation with Europe.
The Mongolian University of Life Sciences, focuses on education, research, and innovation in its field. MULS has strengthened relations with foreign universities to enhance academic and cultural exchanges.
The Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST)’s internationalization strategy was to increase mobility with Western European Universities. It was the first university in Mongolia to implement a Credit Based System in all its activities.
The University of Novi Sad participated in 16 Erasmus Mundus projects for the region between 2008-2015, it has shown that academic mobility is a priority of its leadership(s) and that only by promoting, implementing and developing mobility can it become a valued Western Balkans partner to EU universities. It was a valued partner of UNIPI in a 6thFP NoE, and our ICM project builds on that precedent.
UNIPI developed its links with two Egyptian universities of a high level of research and academic excellence, which are also engaged in the common effort of using and improving quality and recognition tools, Alexandria University and Suez Canal University.
The areas of particular cooperation with Morocco at present are Economics and Management, Agriculture, Veterinary Science and Water Resources. However, both the UNIPI and Cadi Ayyad University wish to broaden the areas of collaboration, and proposed mobility of students and staff in all disciplinary areas.
The partners agreed to ask for support for incoming Doctoral students, for six months in Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Lao, Vietnam); for incoming MA students for six months in China; for all cycles students in Tajikistan, Serbia, Morocco; Egypt; for PhD for 3 months in Uzbekistan; one incoming training staff and one outgoing teaching staff for a brief period (5 days, eight hours minimum of teaching).
The impact includes the improvement of the international attractiveness and the enhancement of the Partners’ role at regional level. The preparation of further projects and future cooperation for the development of higher education in the disciplinary areas involved, and the enhancement of the capacity for international networking of universities and staff will ensure long-term impact.

Coordinator:  UNIVERSITÀ DI PISA  (Italy) 

Start date: 01-06-2015

End date: 31-07-2017

EU Grant: 335.646 €

Project website: http://erasmuspluska107.unipi.it/